 Save the date! Saturday, May 11 is Neighborhood Day in Minneapolis. Neighborhood organizations across the city will host community gatherings and events to welcome new people to get involved in their neighborhood. Several organizations also hold their board elections on May 11.
Some examples of past Neighborhood Day events include:
- Garden tool swaps
- Youth summits
- Plant giveaways
- Potlucks
- Happy hours
- Garage sales
- Community clean-ups
- Annual meetings
Learn more by going to minneapolismn.gov/neighborhood-day
Why you should get involved
Neighborhood organizations help residents plan and advocate for the future of their neighborhood.
Look up your neighborhood organization website and contact information.
Send in your Neighborhood Day event
Neighborhood organizations can send in their events to be added to an upcoming map of events.
 How can the City of Minneapolis better support people with disabilities? We would like your input on the accessibility of our programs and services. Please take the survey by April 14 and let us know what you think about the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessibility more broadly.
Your feedback will help as the City updates its ADA Action Plan.
You can take the survey in five languages:
We will also hold community engagement sessions in May and June.
Watch the City website and future newsletters for more details and ways to participate.
Photo courtesy of Disabled and Here.
Apply by April 10 to attend Neighborhoods Now organizing course
Neighborhood organizers and residents can apply now for the University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) Neighborhoods Now! program by April 10.
During this course, you can learn about:
- Organizing to win
- Building power to change systems for racial equity and economic justice.
- Building organizations whose leadership reflects the community
- Building diverse and effective cross cultural collaborations
Read more about the course on the CURA website.
You can email questions to Malik Holt-Shabazz or Ned Moore.
Apply for a space in Neighborhoods Now!
Local resources and opportunities for immigrants and refugees
The Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs is hosting community office hours. Office hours provide basic information on immigration legal services, shelter resources, health care and more.
Office hours
Stop by South Minneapolis CareerForce, 777 E. Lake Street. The next open hours are on Wednesdays, 2-4 p.m. on:
- April 3
- April 17
- April 24
- May 1
Learn more on the City website, email Michelle Rivero, or call 612-394-6018.
Twin Cities monthly immigration forum meets Thursday, April 25
The City of Minneapolis Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) in partnership with the City of Saint Paul Immigrant and Refugee Program hosts a monthly immigration forum to offer immigration-related updates to the community. The next meeting of this series will be on Thursday, April 25.
Twin Cities monthly immigration forum
Thurs., April 25, 4:30 - 6 p.m.
Join online over Microsoft Teams
Or call in (audio only) at +1 612-276-6670 with meeting ID 365504388#
The topics covered include:
- Federal immigration news and resources.
- City, community and advocacy organization updates.
- Other topics important to immigrant, refugee and new American communities.
Watch previous forums on the City's YouTube channel.
Find dates and links to join the meetings on the OIRA events calendar. Learn more about the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) at minneapolismn.gov/ncr/oira or contact the office directly at oira@minneapolismn.gov.
Cultural radio and TV show schedule
The City of Minneapolis shares important news and updates in English, Spanish, Somali, Oromo and Hmong over community radio stations and two television programs.
You can see the upcoming schedule for these shows and find past recordings on the City website.
 Join an online open house April 11 on winter walking and biking.
Public Works staff will present an overview of the Winter Walking and Biking Study, sidewalk snow and ice clearing pilots, and other recent analysis and efforts related to winter walking and biking maintenance. There will be a question and answer period after the presentation.
Winter walking and biking online open house
6 p.m. Thursday, April 11
Join on Microsoft Teams.
Minneapolis is committed to year-round walking and bicycling as safe, accessible and convenient options for its residents and visitors. The City has been working to improve sidewalk and bikeway winter maintenance.
You can read more on the City website about efforts to improve winter walking and biking.
Community members perform essential work for public health: building healthier communities in our city. To honor those who do this important work, you’re invited to the Local Public Health Heroes event April 17.
The annual Local Public Health Heroes Awards recognize the critical role community partners fulfill in making Minneapolis a healthier place. Local Public Health Heroes help support the Health Department’s vision that healthy lives, health equity and healthy environments are the foundations of a vibrant Minneapolis.
Please join us for a resource fair and ceremony to honor our local public health heroes. Lunch will be provided at no charge.
Local Public Health Heroes event
Resource fair at 11 a.m., award ceremony at noon
Wednesday, April 17
Public Service Building, Room 100, 505 Fourth Ave. S.
Share the flyer.
New MPD and 911 recruitment campaign
The City of Minneapolis has launched a multi-year recruitment campaign for hard-to-fill positions in 911 and the Police Department. We’re looking for talented, community-oriented people to apply for public safety careers like 911 call takers and police officers.
Cities across the country are grappling with staffing shortages in critical public safety departments. Minneapolis is competing with local governments across the state and U.S. to recruit and retain officers.
Imagine yourself making an impact in Minneapolis. Find your potential while building a strong career.
Learn more on the City website.
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Make your home more energy efficient with help from new grants and no-interest loans
If you own a home in Minneapolis, you can now apply for funding to help make it more energy efficient.
Owners of homes from one to four units can apply for 0% loans (which means you don’t have to pay interest) and up to $14,000 in grants for certain home improvement projects that save energy. You can combine these City funds with utility rebates and other grants.
Eligible projects include:
- High-efficiency heating and cooling systems.
- Insulation and air sealing.
- Energy Star windows.
- Heat pump electric water heaters.
- Solar.
Apply for the home energy efficiency grants on the Center for Energy and Environment website.
 The City Council adopted a resolution recognizing April 1-7 as Food Waste Prevention Week in the City of Minneapolis. Nearly 128,000 tons of food is wasted in Minneapolis each year, which also wastes water, fuel and resources in production and in the process of throwing it away.
Community members and businesses both play an important part in using, sharing and composting more food to prevent food waste.
Prevent wasted food
Here are just a few ways to limit wasted food:
- Store items in the right places in your kitchen so they stay fresher longer.
- Save leftovers and store or freeze food in portion-ready containers.
- Freeze ripe fruits and vegetables for baking, cooking and filling in gaps in recipes.
- Compost food scraps. Composting puts uneaten food to use and keeps it out of the landfill.
- Plan menus for the week.
- Buy smaller quantities.
- Eat leftovers.
Learn more ways to prevent wasting food.
Helping restaurants prevent wasted food
In our ongoing commitment to prevent wasted food in our city, the Health Department launched a Prevent Wasted Food education campaign to encourage restaurants to waste less food.
Watch and share videos with those you know in the restaurant industry on how to prevent wasted food:
 The reconstruction of Hennepin Avenue South between Douglas Avenue and West Lake Street began on April 1. The two-year project will improve the corridor for all users from Interstate 94 to Uptown. This year’s construction is from West Lake Street to 26th Street. Next year, the construction area is from 26th Street to Douglas Avenue. Crews will continue replacing underground utilities in advance of next year’s construction, from Franklin to Douglas Avenue.
The new, multimodal design improves space for people walking, riding transit, biking and driving. The layout also provides space for enhanced stations being built for the future METRO E Line, a new Bus Rapid Transit line that will largely replace Route 6 in December 2025.
Metro Transit buses on Hennepin Avenue will be detoured to Lyndale Avenue via Lake Street or 31st Street and 24th Street.
More information:
 The City plans to use a National Park Service grant to help address the underrepresentation of African American history among local and national listings of historic places. The City will also use an award from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
The work will include a context study and the survey of 25 properties associated with African American history in Minneapolis. A context study is a document that describes people, places and events related to a common theme.
Read more on the City website.
City awards first round of opioid settlement funding to combat crisis
The City has awarded its first round of opioid settlement money to organizations combating the opioid crisis. The City is expected to receive about $18 million over the next 18 years from national settlements with opioid distributors and manufacturers.
The awardees of the funding will focus their work on treatment, long-term recovery and prevention to reduce disparities in the number of overdose-related deaths and emergency room visits.
Read more about the awardees and their services on the City website.
 The 2024 season for Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling collection of leaves, brush and other yard trimmings starts the week of April 8. Customers can set properly prepared yard waste at their alleys or curbs next to their garbage carts by 6 a.m. on their pickup day.
Solid Waste & Recycling crews can’t pick up dirt, soil, sod, stumps, trees, or branches wider than 3 inches in diameter or longer than 3 feet.
Read the requirements to prepare your waste for pickup.
For questions about leaf and brush pickup, customers can check the City website or call Solid Waste & Recycling at 612-673-2917 Monday-Friday.
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